Tracey Emin announces she has married a rock

She was once the enfant terrible of British art, bursting into the establishment with herunmade bed.

Tracey Emin, the artist, has proved she still has the power to surprise, after announcing she has married a rock.

Emin, who this week opens a new exhibition in China, said she has married a large ancient stone in France, wearing her father's white funeral shroud.

'It's in my garden, it's very nice and impressive. I like it a lot'

Tracey Emin

She toldThe Art Newspaper: "It just means that at the moment I am not alone; somewhere on a hill facing the sea, there is a very beautiful ancient stone, and it’s not going anywhere.

"It will be there, waiting for me."

In a separate interview,she added: "It's in my garden, it's very nice and very impressive and I like it a lot.

Tracey Emin speaks to member of the media during a press conference in Hong Kong, ChinaCredit:
EPA

"The other thing about the stone is that it could be quite monstrous and scary. Instead I saw it as a protection thing as opposed to a fearful thing."

Emin's latest exhibition, I Cried Because I Love You, will be in Hong Kong until May 21.

It is intended to explore the "universal" emotion of love, with the artist admitting: "Some people think it sounds sad, but I think that, for many people, they have felt tears of joy when they have really been in love."

'My idea of love now is so heightened and spiritual that I really am looking for a soul mate; nothing else will do'

Tracey Emin

When asked how her understanding of art had changed with age, Eminsaid: "I think that when we are younger, it is totally wrapped up in lust and physical conquest.

"My idea of love now is so heightened and spiritual that I really am looking for a soul mate; nothing else will do.

"Maybe when I was 18, I could have met someone who was my soul mate, but would not have known. I am very happy with the few people I have loved in my lifetime and I consider them to be extremely close friends.